I did think I might email Simon and co. But again, I doubt the market demand is there for beefier hinges on ladders, the vast majority of which never see any use. Probably not worth their while.

 

It is a pretty crucial part regardless of how often they get used. I would think there would be a market for the hinges if more people were aware that they are snapping. Could be worthwhile enough to corner the market on the failing part.

 

Ladder hinge 2.0

Looks great but it has the load bearing capacity of a ham sandwich.

failed in early beta testing.

 

Don't hurt yourself!

I spoke to Simon (Powerful). And I looked at my aftermarket ladder more closely. My hinges aren't even cast aluminum - they're plastic! So we are looking into it. I have one bad knee due to skiing and am not going to risk it or the other on a plastic hinge.
If neither Simon nor I can come up with anything worth producing, I will def be fabricating something (steel, welded). If I can manage to do it without too much time expenditure, maybe I'll make a couple of sets. At the very least, I'll document what I've done and post it here so that you can look for a fabricator. It might take some time, though. Months. Not days. Sorry.

 

Seriously though, given the fact that these hinges are weak, I am of the opinion that Land Rover needs to recall all of the ones they sold and it is up to LR to come up with a design that will not break when used for its intended purpose. If the intended purpose is just looks, then it should warn its customers not to use it. Plain and simple, bad product and a safety risk if used.

 

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

I did a search on the stamped letters/numbers on the hinge and found out that it is a zinc alloy in the hinges. Not Aluminum as I initially assumed.

Plastic hinges will for sure fail but perhaps they will distort before fracture occurs.

Anyway, I've tried zip ties, and JB weld. Gorilla glue is next just to have it looking right. I just use the top three rungs (till I forget one day)

 

They're only interested in looks. Strength is not a priority. They know most of these don't see much use and couldn't be bothered. Too busy designing racing Defenders on 22"s to waste time on this sort of thing.

 

if you send me your broken piece i can fix it for you and it will be stronger than the original. i had tried to offer help to another poster here and they became unhinged and sent me messages then acted like i had somehow done something offensive when i just honestly told them i was not interested in working with them. i work with people who understand what it is they are asking to be done. and theyre always happy when they get their piece after waiting, sometimes months. process drives the timeline not personalities.

 

That's a very kind offer mate. I'll send you a PM and figure out the details.

Cheers

 

@GavinC you are right stating it is not a priority. Sadly, it will become a priority when someone gets hurt badly and sues Land Rover, or enough people file complaints with the NHTSA. For what they cost, it should be a solid ladder and work as intended.